A review by pema66
Sold by Zana Muhsen
3.0
A very interesting account of a strong willed young womans fight to retain her identity and escape the life of drudgery and patriarchal culture which her own father sold her into. I found it fascinating how quickly a person , when subsumed by one culture, can forget the other, as her sister Nadia and brother Ahmed did, and her insights into the tyrannical nature of the men within that culture afforded some glimpse into how such subjagation of women endures.
The book reinforced my opinions on many aspects of a certain culture, and made me determined that i would always fight for the rights of the women in that culture whichever country they are in, including this one.
However, a great deal of Zanas story is backed up by evidence, but i was aware throughout the book that it was very much her interpretation of events, i wondered at some points, if, had she had a good husband and mother in law, as her sister did, would she have settled, as her sister claims to have done?
I was also shocked at how easily she left her son, and how little she has mentioned him since.Her life since her return has hardly been a grateful exemplerary one.
I was also struck by the casual way the people of these remote mountain regions in Yemen (did we colonise there?!) come back and forth to the UK for free medical treatment, and how it is seen as a place for free handouts. There is so much hard work done (particularly by the women of course) in the countrys of origin, but only a concept of sitting around leeching off British tax payers when they are here.
The most shocking aspect of the story was how little the FO were willing or able to do. I am sickened that i live in a world where it is still possible to say "there is nothing we can do, she now has dual nationality, and as she is married to a Yemeni husband, she NEEDS HIS PERMISSION to leave the country" and that this is accepted and sanctioned by the rest of the world, thus turning the bullying slavery that the males impose on their women into a national stance.
I admire Zana greatly overall for her indomitable spirit and determination, she could have been a great figurehead for womens rights and cultural change, it is a shame she did not chose that path.
The book reinforced my opinions on many aspects of a certain culture, and made me determined that i would always fight for the rights of the women in that culture whichever country they are in, including this one.
However, a great deal of Zanas story is backed up by evidence, but i was aware throughout the book that it was very much her interpretation of events, i wondered at some points, if, had she had a good husband and mother in law, as her sister did, would she have settled, as her sister claims to have done?
I was also shocked at how easily she left her son, and how little she has mentioned him since.Her life since her return has hardly been a grateful exemplerary one.
I was also struck by the casual way the people of these remote mountain regions in Yemen (did we colonise there?!) come back and forth to the UK for free medical treatment, and how it is seen as a place for free handouts. There is so much hard work done (particularly by the women of course) in the countrys of origin, but only a concept of sitting around leeching off British tax payers when they are here.
The most shocking aspect of the story was how little the FO were willing or able to do. I am sickened that i live in a world where it is still possible to say "there is nothing we can do, she now has dual nationality, and as she is married to a Yemeni husband, she NEEDS HIS PERMISSION to leave the country" and that this is accepted and sanctioned by the rest of the world, thus turning the bullying slavery that the males impose on their women into a national stance.
I admire Zana greatly overall for her indomitable spirit and determination, she could have been a great figurehead for womens rights and cultural change, it is a shame she did not chose that path.